


Inventa et Amissa

by losthpfanficwriter (erbkaiser)



Series: Quidditch Fan League entries [50]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Knockturn Alley, Moribund's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-11-26 05:17:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18176342
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erbkaiser/pseuds/losthpfanficwriter
Summary: Caddy Nott visits Knockturn Alley often, looking for good deals. Has he finally found something, this time?





	Inventa et Amissa

Caduceus Nott took a step to the centre of the alley, deftly avoiding the grasping claws of a hag that was hiding in the shadows between _Msaw Ætare_ and a run-down pub. He gave her an angry glare, thinking to himself she was lucky he had an appointment to make or he'd show her what little chance a degenerated creature like her would stand against a pure-blood wizard such as himself.

Putting the hag out of his mind he walked on until he reached his destination, _Moribund's_. The door was locked, of course, but as a regular customer Nott knew the secret. He tapped the doorknob with his wand and the door opened, allowing him to enter. He walked up to the dirty counter and leaned against it as the bell over the door stopped ringing. Besides the various strange oddities on display and a very suspicious box that appeared to be growling, the shop was empty of other people.

x-x-x-x

Nott did not have to wait too long before a man dressed in dirty dark robes entered through a door in the back of the shop.

"Caddy Nott, as I live and breathe. Been a while since you last set foot in my humble establishment. What brings you here, Borgin and Burkes too high class for you?" the man asked in a mocking tone.

"Can it, _Morry_. I got your owl. You have some interesting items for me?"

"I always have what you need, for those that know the entrance fee," Moribund answered cryptically.

Nott rolled his eyes dramatically. "Take a look, Moribund. This should satisfy even _you_." Nott reached in his cloak and pulled a box out of it, one far too large to normally fit beneath the fabric. Expansion charms came standard with the better robes, after all.

Moribund greedily reached for it, but Nott slapped his hands away. "Allow me," he mockingly said as he opened the box top. Four young Kneazle kittens looked up at the two men, mewling for attention.

"They are marvellous… purebreds, I assume?"

"Of course. Straight from the breeder."

Moribund again reached for the box and this time Nott allowed him to take it down from the counter. "I'll be right back, Nott," he said as he started going for the back door with it.

"One day you'll have to explain this obsession of yours with Kneazles, Morry," Nott called after him, but as usual he got no reply. He spent his time waiting for Moribund to return by inspecting some of the items the store owner had out on display, scoffing at the cursed cuff-links and the slave collar that were lying on the counter itself.

x-x-x-x

Moribund returned quickly. "Thanks for waiting. Now, as to what you came for… you notice the box over there?" He indicated the growling box.

"Obviously… wait… you can't mean?" Nott raised an eyebrow.

"Open it up and see for yourself," Moribund said, grinning.

Nott walked over to the box and pulled the cloth covering it off, revealing an empty box.

"What's the deal, Morry?" he turned to ask, only for his attention to get back to the box immediately as somehow it shook and a loud growling sound was heard. Nott jumped back, whipping out his wand and aiming it at the box. "What the—"

"Hah! I knew you wouldn't be able to see through it!" Moribund shouted, looking amused. "Allow me, Caddy." The store owner produced his own wand from somewhere inside his robes and carefully intoned, " _Revelare Occultatum_ ". A yellow light left the tip of his wand, impacting with the empty box. A small flash occurred and Nott's eyes went wide as he saw an amazing sight, four…

"Miniature dragons? How? They are resistant to all shrinking magics!"

"Beautiful, are they not?" Moribund said. "One breeding pair and two cubs."

"Impossible," Nott said, shaking his head. "They're beautiful, but they must be constructs somehow. There's no such thing as a tiny dragon. I bet you just cast the _Draconifors_ spell on those models."

"You mistrust your own eyes?" Moribund challenged him. "Go ahead, cast some detection spells if you like—as long as you do not free them from the cage. It was a bitch getting them locked up in there and I don't want them burning up my shop just because you are a paranoid git."

" _Finite_." Nott aimed his wand at the four dragons and watched a red light impact them, but other than eliciting a growl from the largest of the four, nothing happened.

" _Finite Incantatem_ ," he cast next, getting no result either. " _Abstulere Virtutis!_ " was his next attempt, causing a big red splash to cover all four dragons for a moment. Nott stumbled back, almost dropping his wand.

"What was that last one, Nott? Not quite standard material, was it?" Moribund asked.

"It's from the Durmstrang curriculum. A more potent counter-spell… has its drawbacks, though."

"I see. Well, convinced now?"

"I don't… no… all right, I am. Where did you get these interesting specimens?"

"Hah! If I told you that, you'd have no need for my services any longer. Nice try, Nott. So, do we have a deal?"

"At least give me some information on them. What breed are they? The biggest one looks a little like a Hebridean Black, but the colour is wrong."

"My source called them Lyonessian Reds, but I am sure he just made the name up. Well, do we have a deal, or do I need to see if the Malfoys are interested?"

"I'll take them, I'll take them!"

x-x-x-x

Nott grumbled as he stumbled out of the door, carrying the large box now again covered with cloth. "Bastard Morry, won't even deliver..."

Seeing two pale figures walk towards him he steeled his gaze, trying to indicate he was not so easily cowed by vampires. Knockturn Alley was not generally a safe place to be in, but for someone like Nott who had business there a few times each week, it held few surprises.

Fortunately the vampires passed him without issue, but just as he saw the exit to Diagon Alley and the Apparition area up ahead, an arm reached out from the shadows next to _Msaw Ætare_ and grabbed his leg. Nott cursed as he fell and lost his grip on the box.

To his horror, the box cracked as it landed on the cobblestone street. With a joyous cry, the four tiny dragons escaped the box, flying off before he could get back to his feet. Nott crawled to his feet, whipping out his wand and aiming it at the hag that was still trying to pull on his leg.

"You damned hag! _Inflammare!_ " Angrily he stared after the tiny dragon family as it flew away over the houses and stores of the alley, not even feeling a bit of satisfaction as he burnt the hag alive for costing him his new investment.

x-x-x-x

In a more well-lit street nearby a young girl sat at a small table outside of an ice-cream shop, carefully attempting to balance two cream covered cherries on top of each other, when she looked up and saw the four dragons fly overhead.

"Look, daddy! Atlantean micro-dragons!" she cried out.

"That's nice, moonbeam," Xenophilius Lovegood replied, not looking up. "Do you also see a Crumple-Horned Snorkack anywhere nearby?"

"Don't be silly, daddy. They won't be here, you know they are allergic to ice-cream."

Tiny dragons forgotten, Luna went back to the arduous task of stacking her snack.

**Author's Note:**

> I love Luna. Could not resist sneaking her in.


End file.
